


Fairy Tales Are For Everyone

by ernyx



Series: BuckyNat fics (for ease of finding) [3]
Category: Marvel, Marvel (Comics), Marvel 616
Genre: F/M, Fairy Tale Elements, I would tag the last thing but it's a surprise!, It's Not Paranoia If They're Really Out To Get You, My Babies Deserve Better, badass assassins, bucky barnes is a sweetheart, buckynat - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-14
Updated: 2018-01-14
Packaged: 2019-03-04 13:13:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13365444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ernyx/pseuds/ernyx
Summary: Natasha grew up in the clutches of the Red Room, and therefore thoroughly lacking in the cute and fluffy fairy tales that many other girls her age treasured so much. They dreamt about ballgowns and princes, and she was stuck with dreams of blood, ever since her first successful kill.She didn’t usually mind, of course. She had her fair share of nightmares, even after all these years, but she’d never cared much for fairy tale stereotypes. Yes, she’d been in love, and she was again now, but that didn’t mean that she needed a Cinderella story in her life.James disagreed. Or at least, he was determined to see her in that dress.





	Fairy Tales Are For Everyone

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the BuckyNat Secret Santa on Tumblr (original post on my account @ artificiallyimplantedmemories) for user @eternal-love-song.  
> prompt: Bucky and Natasha have planned this date for weeks. They’d set up everything, from the mood lighting to the decor, the food to the music. They sure as hell weren’t going to let something so small as an assassin get in the way, not after all this effort.

    Natasha grew up in the clutches of the Red Room, and therefore thoroughly lacking in the cute and fluffy fairy tales that many other girls her age treasured so much. They dreamt about ballgowns and princes, and she was stuck with dreams of blood, ever since her first successful kill. 

    She didn’t usually mind, of course. She had her fair share of nightmares, even after all these years, but she’d never cared much for fairy tale stereotypes. Yes, she’d been in love, and she was again now, but that didn’t mean that she needed a Cinderella story in her life. 

    James disagreed. Or at least, he was determined to see her in that dress. 

    She’d laughed at him, at first, telling him that she wasn’t at all suited for that sort of thing, and he had graciously agreed that she’d look better in red. She’d just swatted him in the arm. Still, persistance paid off, because after the twelfth travel book on her desk, she gave in and told James to take them wherever the hell he needed to to get this out of his system. 

    He’d taken her measurements, pulled out his credit card, and vanished for three days. 

    While he was away, Natasha busied herself with her work, as usual. She wasn’t worried– he knew what she liked better than she did half the time, so she knew the surprise wouldn’t be a bad one. Still, it was an itch in the back of her mind until she got the coordinates from him and managed to fly out to see the place for herself. 

    He’d outdone himself, really, borrowing a night for them at an old French castle. There were a thousand ways in and out, but he’d chosen a set of rooms with only a few exits, easily monitored by a combination of surveillance and traps. She couldn’t help but be a little flattered, both at his concern for her paranoid soul and the lengths that he’d gone through to create this little dream for them. 

    She’d make sure it went without a hitch. 

    That weekend, she got Jess to come over and fix her up, hair piled high on her head, dress in beautiful layers all around her. “It’s like you’re getting married,” the dark-haired woman had quipped, and Natasha had just shaken her head and smiled. She wasn’t the marrying type– the only time it had happened had been a forced farce, and she wasn’t liable to repeat that. Still, if James asked, she couldn’t say for sure that she’d say no either. For now, it was just wish fulfillment, and that was fine. 

    Nat applied her lipstick carefully and walked out to the limo waiting for her. Barnes never did anything in halves, and this was no exception. 

    The ride was quiet and comfortable– presumably he was already there, and the redhead thought of texting him, but then shrugged and enjoyed the champagne that had been provided instead. She’d see him soon enough. When she got there, though, he wasn’t out front to greet her, and nerves stole over her. She hurried inside, hoping these heels wouldn’t trip her up. 

    She wound up the staircase, taking the steps two at a time to get to where she heard noises, and found James with a gun in his hand, fending off no less than eight people, all dressed in what was presumably low-grade ninja gear. Cursing, she grabbed her own from where it was strapped to her leg, and in instants, they were back to back, taking down their assailants on each side. 

    “Lucky I got here on time,” she said, loudly enugh to be heard over the gunfire. He just grunted his assent. It went on for a number of minutes, dodging and weaving and finally taking down each of their attackers. “Ah, shit. We should have left one so we could see where they came from.” 

    James shook his head. “We have a dinner to get to. We’ll worry about them later.” 

    Given how much planning had gone into it, Natasha wasn’t going to speak against that, and simply sighed, taking his outstretched hand. “Alright, lead the way. I don’t have too much blood in my dress, and neither of us are wounded, so let’s not waste it.” 

    “Ever the practical one, princess,” Barnes laughed, and then corrected himself. “Or should you be a czarina?”  


    “Czarina does have a nice ring to it, I can’t lie,” Natasha replied, beaming.  


    They made their way back down to the room where the food was laid out, opted not to sit at opposite ends and instead dragged their chairs together at the middle, and fed each other bits of all of the appetizers. 

    The main course arrived, and they dug in, hungry, only to have Natasha’s gauntlet (hidden in the form of a bracelet) start beeping. Another one of the traps had been tripped. With a sigh, they rose, re-arming themselves, and went to find the new intruder. 

    Half an hour later, they were back, with a few more blood splatters on their clothing, and significantly more exhausted. Worse, the food was cold. They leaned against each other tiredly, chewing slowly as they made it through the rest of their meal. 

    Just before dessert, another alarm went off. This time it was greeted by screeching, courtesy of James Buchanan Barnes. “WHOEVER THE FUCK YOU ARE, GO AWAY. YOU’RE RUINING MY  **DATE**!” 

    Amazingly, the alarm immediately stopped. Whether they’d just found the bodies and backed off or been terrified by the angry voice was anyone’s guess, but James and Natasha looked at each other and chuckled. 

    “How about we take dessert home with us, hmm?”  
    “To the  _hotel_ , you mean?”  
    “That’ll do.” 

    And so that’s what they decide. They wrap up their cake and fancy pastries, get in the limo, and go back to the comfortable little suite that is barely big enough to fit them at the little kitchen table, given the size of Natasha’s dress. For convenience, it comes off, and they feed each other chocolate mousse before going to bed.  


    As they lay there, basking in the afterglow, James pressed a kiss to Nat’s forehead. “Did you enjoy that,  _czarina_?” 

    “I suppose I could tolerate doing that again, my prince,” she replied in kind, “as long as there are no more assassins interrupting us.” 

    “Maybe next year, then, for our wedding.” 

    “ _ **Wedding?**_ ” 

    For a moment, James flustered, then reached out to the bedside table for a little box. “Sorry, I meant to ask.  _Will you marry me?_ ” 

    Natasha broke into peals of laughter, jumped in his lap, and kissed him breathless.  _That’s gotta be a yes_ , he thought, and sunk back into the bed with a grin. 

**Author's Note:**

> Comments? Feedback? I'd love to hear it! Drop me a line either here or on my tumblr!


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